Florida Supreme Court Wednesday approved to suspend, publicly reprimand, and slap Palm Beach County Court Judge Marni Bison with a $37.500 fine for inappropriately “failing full time to her judiciary duties.”
Bryson will be suspended without pay for 10 days. The suspension will start within 30 days according to Palm Beach Chief Judge Glenn Kelley. To receive her public reprimand, she must appear in front of the Supreme Court.
Justice John Couriel was absent from the high court’s decision of 6-0. This decision was basically a plea agreement after Bryson admitted that her conduct was improper. Bryson and Judicial Qualifications Commission, the disciplinary body that oversees state court judges, reached a deal.
Bryson is up for reelection in next year’s election. She has been a judge since 2010. She had a clean record in disciplinary matters until now.
JQC investigators discovered that Judge Bryson missed more days than allowed for judicial leave between 2016-2019, as the court agreed. She also failed to notify management and arrange for another judge to replace her. According to the opinion, she sometimes left before she had completed a full day of work.
“For instance,” the order states, “the Commission received evidence in several instances, two occasions of particular note, on which long wait times resulted from Judge Bryson’s arriving after the scheduled time for proceedings.” This inconvenienced litigants and lawyers as well as citizens. Judge Bryson failed to notify the court management and made arrangements for Judge Bryson to be present until her late arrival.
BRYSON VIOLATED JUDICIAL CARONS
The JQC concluded that Judge Bryson had violated two sections of Florida’s Code of Judicial Canons based on these events.
The JQC observed that Judge Bryson’s absences were not approved if the appropriate court management was informed. Bryson handled felony cases on behalf of circuit court judges, and offered to work extra nights and weekends. The high court also noted that she was the administrative judge of her court.
Bryson was in the news because of her high-profile lawsuit against Fort Lauderdale lawyer William Scherer. This case is being handled by a St. Lucie County Judge to avoid conflict with her Palm Beach County colleagues.
Bryson claimed that nude photos taken from her “chronicle” pregnancy somehow fell into the wrong hands, and that Scherer attempted to use them and other dangerous information to intimidate. (Disclosure: Florida Bulldog is financially supported by Scherer.
According to her, Jack Scarola, a well-known Palm Beach County lawyer, threatened her with violence if she did not comply with child custody disputes. This, she claims, has caused her emotional distress. Bryson and Scherer are arguing over whether she should be allowed ask a jury for punitive damages. The trial date has not been set.
Robert J. Watson, Bryson’s attorney, didn’t respond to an email request from Florida Bulldog for comment.

Source: https://www.floridabulldog.org/2021/11/florida-supremes-discipline-nude-pix-judge-marni-bryson/